The Dalhousie Gazette Issue 147-11

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147-11 • Nov. 14 - Nov. 20

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North America's Oldest Campus Newspaper, est. 1868

A century of 'staches Photo by Jennifer Gosnell

Lester's Moustache Club revisited, pg. 11

DSU aims to divest Omnibus council update, pg. 4

Dal's strategic direction Is it "clockwise"? pg. 8


Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014

DISPATCH

DALHOUSIE STUDENT UNION

staff Jesse Ward, Editor-in-chief editor@dalgazette.com Daniel Boltinsky, Copy Editor copy@dalgazette.com Eleanor Davidson, News Editor Sabina Wex, Assistant News Editor news@dalgazette.com John Hillman, Opinions Editor opinions@dalgazette.com Mat Wilush, Arts Editor arts@dalgazette.com Graeme Benjamin, Sports Editor sports@dalgazette.com

On October 21, 200 students, alumni and faculty gathered at Dal to tell the Board of Governors: “It’s time to put divestment to a vote.” PHOTO: EVELIEN VANDERKLOET

Dalhousie can be the first University in Canada to divest! Divestment is a hot topic across Canada, especially here at Dalhousie. This is both socially and economically responsible option for our University. Plus, it would make Dalhousie—already a leader in Sustainability—the first University in Canada to divest! We know that it is irresponsible for an academic institution to profit from industries that are perpetuating climate change. Dalhousie’s investment in the fossil fuel industry actively compromises the ability for us to lead socially and environmentally just lives. In order to fulfill our claim to being leaders in sustainability we must divest our endowment fund from the top 200 fossil fuel companies. Students at Dalhousie have been organizing through DivestDal to share information with the University and the DSU Council on why and how we can divest from the fossil fuel industry thus allowing Dal to be the leader in sustainability that we strive to be.

DALHOUSIE STUDENT UNION

DSU.ca

/dalstudentunion

DSU Townhall - Hot Topic: Divestment Monday, November 24 at 6:30pm, SUB lobby

Come learn about what divestment is and what the DSU is doing to promote divestment on campus, including discussion on the DSU’s progress with divesting our endowment fund and an update on the Universities progress with divestment. Divestment Decision: Dalhousie Board of Governors meeting Tuesday, November 25 at 1:00pm Dalhousie Quad (in front of the Henry Hicks building)

Divest Dal has been working toward a vote on fossil fuel divestment at Dalhousie since May 2013. On November 25 the Board of Governors will decide if Dal will divest. If this is going to be the biggest showing of support in the Board’s history, we need everyone. All are welcome. The DSU is hiring a Divestment Commissioner

The Divestment Commissioner will help analyze our investments and further develop divestment strategy for our student union. More info www.talentseeker.com/apply/dalhousie

@dalstudentunion

dalstudentunion

Jennifer Gosnell, Photo Manager photo@dalgazette.com Josh Stoodley, Online Editor online@dalgazette.com Jesse Ward, Art Director design@dalgazette.com Devon Stedman, Business Manager business@dalgazette.com Gabe Flaherty, Advertising Manager advertising@dalgazette.com Contributing to this issue: William Coney, Nathan Coney, Elyse Creamer, Anfernee Duncombe, Sarah Estrin, Alexander Maxwell, Robyn Moore, Shannon Slade, Tegan Samija, Jeff Terrell

contact us www.dalgazette.com The SUB, Room 312 6136 University Avenue Halifax NS, B3H 4J2

advertising Gabe Flaherty Advertising Manager 647 261 6692 advertising@dalgazette.com

the fine print The Gazette is the official written record of Dalhousie University since 1868. It is published weekly during the academic year by the Dalhouse Gazette Publishing Society. The Gazette is a student-run publication. Its primary purpose is to report fairly and objectively on issues of importance and interest to the students of Dalhousie University, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. Views expressed in the letters to the editor, the Streeter, and opinions section are solely those of the contributing writers, and do not necessarily represent the views of The Gazette or its staff. Views expressed in the Streeter feature are solely those of the person being quoted, and not The Gazette’s writers or staff.

This publication is intended for readers 18 years of age or older. The views of our writers are not the explicit views of Dalhousie University. All students of Dalhousie University, as well as any interested parties on or off-campus, are invited to contribute to any section of the newspaper. Please contact the appropriate editor for submission guidelines, or drop by for our weekly volunteer meetings every Monday at 6:30 p.m. in room 312 of the Dal SUB. The Gazette reserves the right to edit and reprint all submissions, and will not publish material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous. Opinions expressed in submitted letters are solely those of the authors. Editorials in The Gazette are signed and represent the opinions of the writer(s), not necessarily those of The Gazette staff, Editorial Board, publisher, or Dalhousie University.


editorial

Write a letter to the editor. Email Jesse at editor@dalgazette.com

In search of lost minutes

Do you want to know what your union is up to? Jesse Ward Editor-in-chief

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f the leaders of the Dalhousie Student Union are staying true to the union's vision statement and striving to be “the primary destination for Dal students to engage in involvement within the University”, could they start by letting us know what they're up to? Thousands of students follow the DSU’s presence on Twitter and Facebook, but what their most powerful means of mass communications are mostly used to promote student life events on campus. When the DSU's constitution was amended last month at a general meeting, they didn't share any information about that for four days – but before sharing that information, they did use their social media channels to promote a fish and chips special at the Grawood. It's not that they're playing to the strengths of different mediums and leaving the serious discussion of policy to other forums. If you go to DSU.ca hoping for more information on the Student Union Building renovations project – the multi-million dollar project to completely restructure the way students, societies and businesses within the SUB operate – there's a blurb on the only page about the project that says, "the architects are working through the concept design phase." In reality, the plans have been ready for a while and the only impediment to the project is that it has gone over budget, apparently due to surprise fees from the university. Unless you watch the videos of council meetings on YouTube

or read the Gazette and follow our online presence, there's no public information online about the ongoing amendments to their elections policy. And the elections committee, the group of students tasked with ensuring efficient and fair DSU elections this spring, was assembled last week. That there were open positions on this council was only advertised online through the "volunteering" page of DSU.ca. You would have only known about this opportunity through hearing by word-ofmouth, or if you independently decided you wanted to volunteer with the DSU, went to DSU.ca and carefully considered the list of opportunities available. The ad for the elections committee (that says they're aiming to "double voter turnout" in this spring's elections, which would increase turnout to approximately 22 per cent) is still posted, too. And let's say you're a first-year student who checks out TigerSociety, the DSU's website for student societies. Browsing the list of clubs, you would come across dozens of groups that are completely inactive. Even clubs that still meet up often have outdated communications contacts – including the DSU itself. Under the DSU's page on TigerSociety, Gavin Jardine is listed as the Vice President (Student Life). Jardine hasn't been around for two years. To a student looking for a community to become involved in, the information that's currently avalable makes it seem little is happening within the union. What is ostensibly the portal for initiating student engagement on campus is totally dead – the "events and

and certain occupied positions as vacant. This was addressed by some students and members of council at last month’s general meeting, but no action has occurred. To be fair, the DSU does employ one unprecedented method for maintaining transparency. Very few student unions livestream videos of every council meeting, but the DSU does. Having a public video record of every council meeting is invaluable for historical posterity. But the minutes for meetings, even after being approved, often take months to get online. Some from this summer are still not posted. Students should not be expected to sit through threehour videos of procedure so they can know where their $135 council membership is going. For now, to assist in bringing light to some of the issues already faced by the DSU this year, this issue of the Gazette features 2,000 words on the most recent council meeting and an update on their internal democratic governance review. To further meet our mandate of reporting on issues of importance to Dalhousie students, the Gazette will be providing an intense level of coverage and analysis of DSU affairs as upcoming weeks progress. Feedback on recent stories and the analytics of dalgazette.com show us students really do want to know what the DSU is up to. It's currently difficult to find out what council is actually working on, and it shouldn't be. Let's change that.

No events or news here, please move along. • • • screenshot of TigerSociety

news" page of TigerSociety which the DSU once reliably posted to has now been empty for a long time. I'll confess I'm guilty in contributing to this culture of incomplete projects. I started a society last year for a research project and it has since been unattended. It was called the Dalhousie Comedy Society, and I'm still registered as president, but the joke is that it doesn't exist. About five people have joined it, and this summer a couple of them sent me messages asking when the first meeting is. I'm not able to leave the society until I give over the title of president to someone else, and that's not something I want to spring on someone – I simply haven't gone through the work of seeing who may actually want to run that society. Now that I've written this, I'll have to email everyone who expressed interest – a benefit of operating that society is that you'll already have free advertising in Dalhousie's viewbooks, of

which 60,000 were printed – they list the Dalhousie Comedy Society as a society to join on campus if you want to "try something totally new". These are the same viewbooks that say Dal offers over 4,000 courses, a claim the Gazette disputed earlier this semester. Fact-checking and constantly keeping information updated can be tiring, unrewarding work. But when the DSU doesn’t have public lists of members on its various committees, or what these committees have been up to, students cannot effectively gauge the performance of council. And if you had a problem with lists of committee members not being posted, the Comedy Society not existing, the DSU's silence on its huge initiatives, the sketchy viewbooks or any of the issues a student union should hear from t support students, you could not even rely on the DSU's listing of councillors to see who represents you on council. The list of councillors on DSU.ca shows certain vacant positions as occupied

Contributor meetings for the Gazette will resume in January. Thank you to everyone who volunteered with us this semeseter!


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news covers Dalhousie and the greater Halifax community. Contributors are welcome! Email Eleanor and Sabina at news@dalgazette.com

DSU Review: Council meeting of Nov. 5, 2014 Councillor recalled, DSU aims to divest, elections policy amended

Jesse Ward Editor-in-chief

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bout three audience members observe any 2014 DSU council meeting, and two of them are Gazette writers. The livestreams of these meetings generally attract one or two viewers. If you aren't one of these five people, and the @Dalgazette council livetweets don't cut it for you, we will be providing deeper insight into the process of these meetings in our upcoming issues. The DSU changed the policy governing elections after it got to the chair too late to be included in council packages One item on the agenda was to vote on a revised elections policy. Council Chair Andrew Christofi let everyone know he did not receive the amended elections policy by the deadline of Sunday at 6:30 p.m., so he was unable to circulate the policy to councilors along with the rest of the council package (the documents each member of council receives from the chair at least a day prior to council meetings). “We have an amended elections policy, as amended by the Board of Operations (BOPS), and the question is whether we’re going to be working from that text as opposed to the text councillors have already received,” Christofi said. DSU President Ramz Aziz said most of the amendments BOPS was looking to make applied to the Vice President (Finance and Operations) [VPFO] position, which will be elected for the first time this year. He suggested Christofi send a copy of the policy with BOPS’ amendments to all councillors and proxies, and for the motion to be voted on at this meeting. (Proxies are acquaintances of councillors who vote in their place when they cannot be/are not at council meetings. Every councillor using a proxy must sign a form to have their proxy approved in

advance.) “I don’t feel particularly comfortable voting on policy changes that we haven’t received until after the start of the meeting,” said councillor Hannah Klug, President of the Undergraduate Engineering Students Society. “I think it’s hard to notice the details that have changed during the meeting.” Christofi acknowledged if anyone felt there wasn’t enough time to make a fair vote, the motion would be tabled until the next meeting. A motion was passed to have

for the VPFO position will have to answer a DSU questionnaire and have their answers publically posted shortly after announcing their intent to campaign in this upcoming elections period. Administration allegedly appointed students to budget committee without consulting DSU The Budget Advisory Committee is a committee of Dal administration that examines Dal’s finances and balances its budget each year.

A motion was passed that will see councillors required to submit end-of-month reports, that will be publically viewable, on the activities and concerns of their constituencies. This will come into effect at the end of December. DSU may opt to divest their portfolio of investments in fossil fuels On Nov. 25, Dalhousie’s Board of Governors will vote on whether they will divest the university’s portfolio of investments in fossil fuel companies, and the DSU has

All the lonely placards, where do they all belong? • • • Photo by Jesse Ward

the amended policy, as well as a document detailing what changes were made, circulated among all councilors and proxies. Later in the meeting, the amendments were reviewed lineby-line in front of council. Various changes needed to be made to the policy now that the position of VPFO is elected, rather than appointed, as of last month’s AGM where Grawood patrons and the cast of Alice in Wonderland: the Pantomime were recruited at the last minute to meet the number of voting members necessary to amend the constitution. Council voted so that nominees

Board of Governor’s Representative JD Hutton told council that two students are supposed to sit on the committee each year in consultation with the DSU, but when he asked if he could be on it this year, he was told the two students were already appointed by administration. The DSU had not been consulted. “Given the gravity of this committee, it’s kind of a big deal,” said Hutton. Councillors will now be required to submit public monthly reports

been talking about divesting their own portfolio for months. The DSU Dispatch on page 2 of this issue of the Gazette says the DSU is hiring a Divestment Commissioner. That job posting, as of this story being edited on Nov. 11, does not appear anywhere online. Aziz said members of the Divest Dal activist group recently helped the DSU draft amendments to their Investment Policy after it was found the DSU does indeed have investments in fossil fuels. The DSU will be holding a town hall meeting on Divestment for all students to attend on Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m., in the lobby of the

Student Union Building. If the DSU wants to vote on whether they should divest before the university’s Board of Governor’s does, this will have to happen at the Nov. 19 council meeting, a week before the town hall on Divestment. How these schedules may conflict is anyone's guess. Two of the people regulating this year’s DSU elections have not been seen by DSU council, did not submit letters of introduction At the previous DSU council meeting on Oct. 22, political science student Dylan Ryan was appointed to be Chief Returning Officer of the DSU’s Elections Committee. Shaila Jamali, a Masters of Planning student, was appointed to be a non-council member on the committee. On Nov. 5, the committee still needed at least three non-council members. Dylan Ryan gave Board of Governors Representative Rebecca Haworth the names of three nominees – Courtney Taylor, Theresa Borwein and Sarah Estrin. None of them were present in the room, but Christofi had received their confirmation that they wanted to be on the committee. Estrin was the only nominee who sent in a letter of acceptance, which Christofi read. Christofi said Borwein and Taylor were notified they had the opportunity to write a letter but did not. “Now we’re in the position where councilors don’t know what these people even look like, and they’re the only nominees for the elections committee that we have,” said Christofi. Estrin said on Twitter that she didn’t have enough notice about the nomination to book time off work to attend the meeting. Christofi let council know the procedure for successful appointments to the committee. A council-wide vote is not necessary unless there are any objections. “I’d like to point out we’ve had


Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 • four weeks to scrounge up people. Obviously this is not an awesome committee that everyone’s jumping to be on,” said Rebecca Haworth, Board of Governor’s Representative. She suggested council move on in the agenda. From Sept. 24 to Oct. 10, the DSU Tweeted the link to where the CRO position could be applied for four times. They did not advertise the CRO position over Facebook once. They never advertised through their online presence how students interested in being nominated for the elections committee could get involved. Christofi announced Borwein, Taylor and Estrin are now on the elections committee. Estrin is the Deputy Returning Officer. Good luck finding out who represents you on council – there’s a good chance they were not present regardless Seven absent council members sent their regrets. One councillor, Taylor Quinn, only showed up late because of a class. Three councilors were not present with Christofi not mentioning they had expressed regrets: Kristofer Pervin, computer science representative; Vishwa Patel, Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students representative; and Aaron Szeto and Uytae Lee, who are the Architecture representative interchangeably. Jacqueline Skiptunis, Vice President (Academic and External) [VPAE], was the only executive member not present at the meeting. She had sent her regrets in advance. Some positions on council are still vacant, including two Residence Representative seats. If you’re a DSU member trying to figure out who represents you on council, you cannot rely on DSU.ca’s list of councillors, the only public listing of councillors you can get without directly asking the chair. As of this story being published the list says the positions of Black Students rep, Computer Science rep, and two Health Professions rep positions are all vacant – one Health Professions Rep position is vacant, but the other mentioned positions are not. This means Black students or those studying computer science who are not already aware of their representative member on

council would see DSU.ca’s list of councillors, see the vacant position, and likely be deterred from going forward with any grievances, questions or suggestions they have. SUB renovations over-budget Aziz announced the university introduced new fees to the DSU for the upcoming SUB renovations by surprise. Aziz said the project is currently over-budget, and that he’ll have more updates in the coming weeks. Little interest expressed in unadvertised DSU staff position Aziz announced there were two applications for the position of Executive Project Commissioner, which is essentially an assistant to the DSU president. The application for this position that pays $1,000 was not advertised by the DSU until the Gazette published a story featuring the detail this position had not been advertised, when two days were left to apply for it. The DSU staff position of Policy and Research Coordinator has also seen its application period end. Aziz said the results of the hiring should be known “next week,” which means the week this story is being published. As of this story going to print, the results of this hiring process have not been publically announced. The committee meant to hold DSU execs accountable may amend its policy to let any student assist in its reports Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Society president Kaitlynne Lowe is chair of the Executive Review Committee (ERC). DSU.ca says the purpose of the committee is to “conduct performance evaluations on each member of the Executive”, and in Lowe’s own words, the committee exists to review the DSU executive to make sure they are fulfilling their constitutional duties. Lowe said the committee’s policy allows for a non-council member to sit on the committee. This policy is not available online. She said the policy says there may be “one” non-council student on the committee, which she interprets as “at least one,” and that she’s open to having as many people on the committee as possible. Councillor Klug disagreed. “I

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 • would interpret ‘one’ to be ‘one,’ and I think we should give the opportunity to advertise this to other students,” she said. Christofi agreed. The current non-council member of the ERC, named Sayeed, has been unresponsive. Lowe was unaware Sayeed was still on the committee – he had been appointed in May, and was not automatically recalled in September as Lowe had thought. A student named Malik had expressed interest in becoming more involved with the DSU, and Lowe thought joining the ERC would be a good opportunity for him – but the non-council member position is still occupied by Sayeed. Christofi recommended Lowe keep trying to contact Sayeed. This business was then tabled. Aboriginal students' rep recalled After the meeting's agenda items had been dealt with, the Gazette informed Christofi that Aboriginal Students rep Michelle Martin had missed at least three council meetings without expressing regrets. A clause in the DSU's constitution says councillors are to be recalled if they miss two meetings of council during their term of service without providing reasonable excuse. Christofi acknowledged this and recalled Martin from council, vacating the position. Christofi also said Martin had sent him an email earlier in the day saying she wished to no longer be on council. Policy on sexism and racism tabled until further notice Vice President (Academic and External) Jacqueline Skiptunis put forward a notice of motion for a non-tolerance policy towards racism and sexism at the council meeting of Sept. 24. One agenda item was the “Motion to adopt a Policy concerning sexism and racism”. Christofi said Skiptunis was still doing consultation for the policy. A voted passed for the motion to not appear in front of council until council members have received the text of the policy. Proxy member takes notes on his own votes The meeting began with an

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Killam cuts 110 science journals Sabina Wex Assistant News Editor The Dalhousie Libraries scholarly resource budget for 2014/15 is $7,027,436, according to their collections webpage. The money goes toward buying journals, databases and books. This is a 1.9 per cent increase from last year’s budget. Yet Elaine McInnis, Interim Head of the Killam Memorial Library, still needed to ask her subject specialist librarians to cut 10 per cent of serial subscriptions from each faculty. These faculties include Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), Health Professions, Management and Science. 110 journals were cut from the Faculty of Science. This includes titles such as Oilweek Magazine, Forest Science and Annals of Applied Probability. McInnis said that Faculty of Science specialist librarian Sarah Stevenson held consultations with the faculty. Stevenson will appear at the science faculty meeting this month to explain the reasoning behind the cuts. “They’re very understanding,” McInnis said of the Faculty of Science regarding the journal cuts. announcement the secretary was not there and would not be appearing. Chair Andrew Christofi let the room know that both councilors and regular DSU members are eligible to take minutes when this happens, but councilors acting as secretary would lose their voting privileges. Ali Calladine, senate rep, had a proxy representing her for the meeting, Alex Butler. Alex Butler took on the duty of secretary – but because he was a proxy, and not a regular councillor, he was allowed to vote while also taking minutes of the meeting. Flashback: The other most recent time a non-council member who was not the secretary took minutes was the council meeting of June 18, 2014, when a staff member of the T-Room agreed to take down minutes.

The Faculty of Science has not returned the Gazette’s request for an interview. FASS had 10 journals cut; Health Professions, one; Management, four. McInnis said that the Faculty of Science took more of a cut because they were overspent for serials more than other faculties. If it’s discovered that a journal cut is used more than McInnis or Stevenson originally thought, McInnis said that it can be brought back. Many serials now appear online and are cheaper. The majority of the libraries’ collection changes are changing print journal subscriptions to online ones. McInnis said she wants to continue the conversation about serials with each department in order to ensure understanding on both the libraries’ and faculties’ ends. This will also help her plan better for next year’s budget. “We start the conversation as early as possible,” she said, “and keeping the conversation going.”

(The minutes from this meeting are currently not available on DSU.ca). Puppy room is back Stressed out from the way things are going? You'll be pleased to know the famous puppy room is confirmed to return to the SUB, Dec. 1-3.

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Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

The art of prosecuting war criminals: a talk with William Fenrick

Dalhousie-trained lawyer speaks on the complications of international criminal prosecution Eleanor Davidson News Editor

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eflecting upon his time at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), William Fenrick likens the Tribunal’s process to mud wrestling. A former officer in the Canadian Navy and a graduate of the Dalhousie Law School, Fenrick was part of a Commission of Experts advising the ICTY investigations into war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.

Addressing a small audience at Dalhousie on Nov. 5, Fenrick spoke about his experience at the ICTY and the complexities of international law. In the years since it was first established in 1993, the ICTY has charged over 160 people. For a court that does not have the capacity to handle more than six cases at once, this was a significant (and ongoing) undertaking. The ICTY prosecuted criminals involved in events from 1991 until the end of the Yugoslav wars in 1999.

“On the one hand, what we were trying to do was to get at higher-level people,” says Fenrick. “But our first was a man named Duško Tadić, a low-level thug who murdered a bunch of people. He was our first case because we knew we could get him.” Tadićwas convicted for crimes against humanity and convicted to 20 years imprisonment. Of the dozens of criminals tried by the ICTY, each case provided its own challenges. Fenrick’s allegory of the ICTY’s

task as mud-wrestling became increasingly clear as he described the hurdles involved in finding the criminals, arresting them and trying them. “It’s a difficult and hard-fought battle in every case,” he says. While the task of dealing with war criminals provided endless challenges, Fenrick also described the complex nature of working in an international environment. “Some of our judges were trained in common law, others in civil law. There are so many fundamental differences between the

two that it could be very difficult to reach an understanding.” Jeremy Ryant, a political science student who attended Fenrick’s talk, commented on the former lawyer. “I was surprised. I knew international law was filled with complicated jurisdictions, but it became clear today just how messy this is, how many actors you have to deal with and compromise with.”

Finkelstein criticizes Israel’s involvement in Gaza Scholar advocates international non-violent resistance in support of Palestine

Tegan Samija News Contributor

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orman Finkelstein says "the problem is not that the public is ignorant, but that it is inert. " Finkelstein is an American activist, author and professor renowned for his research on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He was arrested in Israel in July after organizing a protest against the country’s military action in Gaza. Speaking at Saint Mary’s University’s McNally Theatre Auditorium on Nov. 4, Finkelstein delivered a lecture, "Israel and Palestine: What Has Changed after Gaza 2014?" Finkelstein’s lecture focused on criticisms of Israel’s lobby. He spoke about Israel’s military assault on Gaza earlier this year that killed over 2,150 people,

according to the United Nations. He said Israel denounced Palestine for not agreeing to the terms of a ceasefire that “Hamas could never accept,” and that Israel strikes Palestine when international attention is distracted by other conflicts. Finkelstein used the example of Israel’s ground invasion of Palestine occurring during the crash of Malaysian Airways flight MH17 in July 2014, which directed the attention of the media away from Gaza. In response to Israel’s fear of Palestinian rocket attacks, he said, “there were no rockets in Gaza … there were enhanced Hamas fireworks, that’s all they were sending over.” In order to gain Western support of Palestine, Finkelstein advocates a Palestinian protest at the Israeli-Palestine border.

The lecture was organized by Independent Jewish Voices (Canada) and Canadians, Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace. • • • Photo by Jesse Ward

“Politics is capitalizing on one’s own strengths and targeting one’s enemy’s weakness,” he said. “Palestine’s strengths are its strong will and commitment. Israel’s weakness is its violation of inter-

national law.” After referencing Gandhi several times during his lecture, Finkelstein asked the world to “give massive non-violent resistance a chance.”

Finkelstein said he was “astonished” by the event’s turnout. He expected about 20 people to attend the lecture, while the 400seat auditorium was at capacity.

Follow us: @dalgazette @dalgazettesport


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Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

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Law students petition to change convocation date University assigned convocation that conflicts with mandatory training and exams

William Coney Staff Contributor

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aw students are petitioning for their convocation to occur on a different date after Dalhousie administration attempted to combine the convocation dates of different faculties. The Schulich School of Law’s convocation was originally scheduled for May 22. This date has since been shifted to May 29 – four days prior to the June 2 Ontario Bar exams. The Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC) in BC, a course that takes the place of a Bar Exam, is scheduled to begin on May 25 – four days prior to convocation. The graduating class of the law program responded to the change with a petition requesting that the date be changed. Initially a grassroots effort, it has now been taken up by the Dalhousie Law Student Society (DLSS), and has secured at least 80 signatures – slightly under half the class of 2015. As a direct result of this petition, a plebiscite regarding these issues is due for the week of Nov. 10 to reach a compromise with Dal. This compromise would have the convocation rescheduled to May 26. DLSS President Anthony Rosborough says the May 26 convocation date still marks issues for some students. He says the ideal date would be May 22, and is dis-

Roughly half of this year's graduating class of law students signed the petition.• • • Photo by Jennifer Gosnell

satisfied that it is unclear whether the university had discussed the convocation dates with the law school prior to posting them. "It's a national university and a national law school,” says Rosborough. “The university is not fulfilling its obligations.” When the DLSS requested to see the process and documentation the university undertook in determining the timing of its convocation dates, they were not presented with any further information.

Rosborough says he understood anecdotally that most law students would rather miss their convocation than be delinquent in their professional duties. "[I] sympathize with the university, but many students have spent lots of time, effort, stress, and money to come to convocation,” he says. Dalhousie administration has not responded to the Gazette's request for comment. In a statement given to CTV News, Mairead Barry, the uni-

versity’s assistant vice-president of enrollment management, said: "There are other students as well, many others that have already made travel arrangements based on the posted dates of convocation, so changing the date at this point could be an inconvenience for them and their families as well.” These changes to the general scheduling of the convocation have not been put forward through either the University Senate or the University Board of

Governors at any point in 2013 or 2014. A similar event occurred at the Sept. 15 session of senate, where “a question [was] raised regarding the timing of the October convocations and the difficulties this may present for faculty members who are teaching during these time periods.” These minutes note that this question was to be raised with the Registrar’s Office, and reported on in future senate meetings. No current policies of the university outline the process by which convocation is scheduled. At the Oct. 14 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences faculty meeting, Dean Robert SummerbyMurray explained the new convocation schedule. The presentation provided explained that such changes mostly stemmed from the desire to have a convocation model which has three convocations a day, at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m., in order to allow for the convocation period as a whole to be compressed. At this time, the DSU has not taken a stance on the issue. Ed. Note: this story was written before the week of Nov. 10, the scheduled week of the plebiscite.

DSU postpones internal governance review until winter Sabina Wex Assistant News Editor The Dalhousie Student Union’s (DSU) democratic governance review is postponed until the winter term, according to DSU president Ramz Aziz. He said he’s working on a proposal for the governance review. Aziz said that council is finalizing election and round two policies, as well as preoccupied with the issue of Dalhousie’s

divestment from fossil fuel companies. In a Sept. 5 interview with the Gazette, Aziz said he intended to propose an internal governance review within the first few meetings of council. The DSU decided not to participate in Students Nova Scotia’s (SNS) democratic governance review of student unions across the province. On the same day the interview was conducted, Aziz’s whiteboard read “governance” as his number one priority for the year.

The DSU and SNS have similar objectives for their respective reports: how to engage student participation through better representation in council by asking students more about what they want. Less than 11 per cent of the student body voted in the last DSU election – the lowest voter turnout in at least a decade. SNS Executive Director Jonathan Williams said that a draft of his organization’s democratic governance review is going to be reviewed by an advisory committee this

month. The review is expected to be finalized in January.


opinions

opinions

gazette opinions welcomes any opinion backed up with facts, but we don't publish rants Email John at opinions@dalgazette.com

Emphasis on the Impact

Dalhousie’s new strategic direction faces considerable hurdles. John Hillman Opinions Editor

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n these uncertain times for post-secondary education in Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University recently unveiled its new strategic direction. President Florizone spent 100 days listening. He consulted thousands students, staff, and community stakeholders. He summarized his findings into a 196-page report. Now, he and his team have condensed all of this input into a new strategic vision for the future of our university – a document that sports a title as bold and captivating as the process that led to its creation. “Inspiration and Impact: Dalhousie Strategic Direction 20142018" Whoa. The title is nothing if not honest. The decisions made over the next few years are going to impact students in a huge way. The impact won’t necessarily be POSITIVE, mind you, but they didn’t say anything about that, now did they? I know that came across as terribly cynical. I’m sorry. I wish I could read this delightfully generic four-page document and let out a sigh of relief, confident that Dal was about to become a dynamic educational powerhouse propelled to glory by its new threefold mission statement that compels us to pursue teaching excellence, world-leading research, and community service on a global scale. The thing is, this isn’t my first degree here at Dal. Unfortunately, the last of my optimism was frozen in carbonite around the time the NDP pulled a Lando Calrissian-style betrayal on students back in 2010. This isn’t the first time the university has laid out a vision since I’ve been here, and the administration hasn’t exactly succeeded at

its previous attempts to inspire. According to a report released last year by the Dalhousie Faculty Association, administrative spending increased 98 per cent between 2002 and 2012, while “academic” spending increased only 48 per cent over that same period. This administrative crowd – the group that deemed it wise to increase its own budget at twice the rate of the academic budget— are the ones we must trust to trim the fat and find a way to guide us through the troubled financial seas ahead. I’m sure we’ll be okay – it’s not like academics are that important to a university, right? Again, sorry for the snark. I know it’s not polite, respectful, or remotely constructive. It just slips out sometimes. The thing is, aside from the general bloat, those of us who have been around long enough have seen the administration make some questionable calls during previous attempts to pursue bold ambitions. The last half-decade or so has witnessed dramatic cutbacks in government funding of post-secondary education, and yet Dal has gone full steam ahead with a number of major new construction projects. These projects are part of something called the Campus Master Plan, an ambitious vision that calls for $600 million in campus development. The administration justifies these expenditures by pointing to predicted enrolment increases. Troublingly though, the university’s own reports on the 2011-2012 budget cautioned that increased competition for international students and Nova Scotia’s declining high school student population mean that enrolment might not keep pace with the growth we’ve seen over the past decade.

This isn’t some purely theoretical concern either – one of our fellow Haligonian universities provides a sobering reminder of the catastrophic possibilities inherent in of this sort of bold, hold-ourbreath-and-hope-for-the-best planning. In the mid 2000s, NSCAD went ahead with plans to build its beautiful new Waterfront Campus, assuming that such a move was necessary to accommodate growth. Unfortunately, they pulled the trigger without first securing all of the necessary external funding for the project. The Wilson Report (2011) described this hugely expensive project as the key factor in NSCAD’s (still ongoing) financial crisis, noting that their enrolment objectives were wildly overoptimistic given Nova Scotia’s declining high school population.

So NSCAD followed a similar route, and they are now about two years away from being renamed the Dalhousie School of Crafts and Crayons. You can see how this might leave one a little skeptical about our current course. Let’s be optimists though. We’ll assume that Dal’s gamble pays off better than NSCAD’s, and that our swashbuckling new president slashes administrative bloat. We’ll even ignore the host of other problems that I haven’t dared bring up, like the university’s enormous pension shortfall, or the fact that the highest paid professors at the top of the faculty food chain are unlikely to accept any sort of wage freeze to help control expenditures. It doesn’t matter—we’re still due for a shakedown. Back in October, Minister of Labour and Advanced Educa-

Dalhousie's way forward – an endless loop. • • • Press image

tion Kelly Regan announced that by 2018, Nova Scotian universities will face a $50 million annual gap between what they require, and what the government is able to pay. The only way to avert this dire future is to take drastic steps to cut costs and/or increase revenue. Anyone want to throw out a guess as to where the bulk of the funds necessary to meet that deficit will come from? So there you have it. Cynicism explained. It’s hard to envision how the university plans to follow through with this new strategic direction—to pay for both “excellence in teaching” and “world-leading research” in a way that doesn’t end painfully for students. It’s even harder to imagine them pulling this off while simultaneously funding flashy new construction projects to accommodate students who may or may not be coming, in an environment in which the government has already told us that we’re on track for massive funding shortfalls. The final page of the “Inspiration and Impact” document features a chart purporting to show the steps required on “our way forward”. Interestingly, this process is structured as a circle, so after completing each step along the way forward … you end up right back where you started. You know where I’m going with this. Honestly though, there’s still a small part of me that desperately wants this chart to represent a rolling wheel of change, not a spin-cycle set to futility. As I’ve said, this hope is still trapped deep within that carbonite shell – and if you’ve watched Return of the Jedi, you know that only a sassy, rebellious young administrator has the power to set it free. President Florizone, will you be my Princess Leia?


opinions

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

The true north strong and...

Our constitution should recognize our environment Jeff Terrell Opinions Contributor

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id you know Canada is among the eight per cent of UN member states that fails to recognize the right to a healthy environment? That means that all Canadians can enjoy a service anywhere in the country – which is fantastic – while we have no legal right to fresh air, clean water, or safe soil. It also means we intentionally omitted from our Supreme Law what we often proclaim to value most – nature. We’ve come a long way in recent times. The introduction of agriculture, the age of enlightenment, and the industrial revolution rapidly transformed the way we live and think about the world. But as societies increasingly recognized individual liberties and rights, we seemed to forget that we are a small part of a much greater interconnected web of life. The reality of climate change has forced us to reflect on our fundamental values and the path we are currently on as Canadians. Are we truly lovers of nature? Do future generations deserve to enjoy the abundance that we do now? Should our beer commercials be set in the mountains, and should we even have a leaf on our flag? It will be tempting to allow the economy to enter into the discussion as if it is a directly competing interest of the environment rather than a wholly owned subsidiary of it. Let’s remember our common goal to create a future in which all Canadians have a means to provide for their families. If we choose to take action, we can look abroad for inspiration. In Argentina, a landmark ruling forced several levels of government to commence a ten year, multi-billion dollar effort to restore and preserve the countries’ largest watershed. Research from the 110 countries around the world with environmental rights protection in their constitution

reveals stronger environmental laws, stricter enforcement, increased government transparency and public engagement, and smaller ecological footprints as a result. Constitutional reform is no small task, and will by no means resolve all of our ecological dilemmas. However, protection for the environment in our Supreme law will symbolize a collective commitment to the creation of a sustainable future, and provide potent substantial and procedural laws to guide us on our way. If you’d like to learn more about the growing environmental rights movement, check out the following events and resources. Halifax Blue Dot Kick-off Nov. 23 in the atrium of the Steel Ocean Sciences building (1–4 p.m) Environmental Law Students Society lunch and learn Nov. 18 in room 204 of the Weldon Law Building (12 p.m.) Bluedottour.ca Sign a petition to join the tens of thousands of Canadians supporting green rights. Ecojustice.ca Take a look at this firm’s research and current litigation strategy. Ecelaw.ca Explore environmental rights work being done in the Maritimes. Greenrights.com Hear and see environmental rights success stories from around the world. Books by David Boyd, law professor and leading scholar on Environmental Rights The Environmental Rights Revolution (2012), The Right to A Healthy Environment (2012).

9

Not that kind of predator Lena Dunham and the abuse we don’t want to talk about Shannon Slade Opinions Contributor

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y one-way relationship with Lena Dunham is very complicated. I really want to like her, but she makes it so damn hard sometimes. When Girls first came out, I got on my feminist high horse and defended her until I was blue in the face, and I stand by many things I said at the time. She was showcasing a side of twenty-something female behavior that I hadn’t seen portrayed on television before, but I sure as hell recognized it from personal experiences. She was also putting herself on display, gleefully and rebelliously, and I loved it. I am a proud, card-carrying member of Team Chunk and I am always happy to see a heavier looking girl on television who isn’t perpetuating that ‘fat person fall down and go boom’ schtick. She was exposing a side of women that is eccentric, neurotic and not pretty, and I related to that a lot. Then … things started getting icky. I started to loathe the show due to its treatment of Adam Driver’s character as a romantic character after (spoiler alert) he came all over his girlfriend without her consent. Then there is the lack of minority characters in the show— this has been dissected and discussed by people far smarter and more informed than I, so I won’t go into that much here. Now, Lena is facing accusations of sexual abuse over her new memoir. I have read as much as I possibly can in regards to what she

wrote in her new autobiography Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned", and in my own admittedly

thing a sexual predator might do to woo a small suburban girl, I was trying.” "She

was

afraid

Dunham in 2012. • • • Photo via Wikipedia Commons

non-professional opinion, the behavior she details sounds a lot like sexual abuse. As with the controversy over the lack of minority characters in Girls, I’ll leave the indepth analysis to the professionals. That said, you don’t need a psych degree to realize that if a few of the passages about Lena’s relationship with her six-yearsyounger sister had been written by a man, they would have provoked a wholly different reaction from a lot of Dunham’s supporters. For example: “As she (Grace, Lena’s sister) grew, I took to bribing her time and affection: one dollar in quarters if I could do her makeup like a “motorcycle chick.” Three pieces of candy if I could kiss her on the lips for five seconds. Whatever she wanted to watch on TV if she would just “relax on me.” Basically, any-

to sleep alone and would begin asking me around 5:00 P.M. every day whether she could sleep with me. I put on a big show of saying no, taking pleasure in watching her beg and sulk, but eventually I always relented. Her sticky, muscly little body thrashed beside me every night as I read Anne Sexton, watched reruns of SNL, sometimes even as I slipped my hand into my underwear to figure some stuff out." If, say, Channing Tatum had written the above, I don't think Jezebel would be rushing to publish defensive articles, leaving out the most damning quotes— I think they would be baying for blood and writing about the abuse of power imbalances and the romanticizing of sexual exploitation. The behavior Dunham describes is not acceptable. There is noth-

ing wrong with childhood sexual exploration in general; it’s natural. Bribing for physical favors like kisses and ‘relaxing on her’ is not normal though; it’s predatory. We need to stop and reflect why we have a knee-jerk reaction to justify such behaviour when it is a woman who admits to doing such things. For me, all of this illustrates that the disturbing world of child sex abuse is larger and far more complicated than we commonly think. It’s not always a sleazy adult male inviting kids to sit on his lap, sometimes it’s a trusted older sister who is manipulating her considerably younger sibling for her own pleasure. Sometimes people aren’t aware that they are sexualizing a child, but it is still happening – and still hurting – just the same. I’m not saying Lena Dunham is a full-on child molester, but she is guilty of some serious, potentially damaging behavior. Brushing this aside as innocent childhood exploration, and willfully turning a blind eye to the legitimately concerning aspects of the behavior is not the progressive thing to do. I hope that if anything, this controversy opens up a dialogue about the many ways a child can be sexualized – greater awareness might help us identify such behavior in situations that we aren’t conditioned to expect it. As for me and Lena, I’m sad to say our relationship is pretty much dunzo.


10 opinions

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

From the Archives A century of 'staches

Lester, lord of the 'stache

Ernest Lester was the caretaker of the old Arts Building (now the location of the University Club) from 1922-1947. He was something of a campus icon, and known for his meticulously groomed moustache.

John Hillman Opinions Editor

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e are now firmly in the middle of Movember, and the campus teems with candidates for membership in the prestigious ranks of Lester’s Moustache Club. What’s that—you say you’re not familiar with Lester or his Moustache Club? A history lessor is in order. In honour of our noble modern moustache-teers, let’s take a look back a century of Dalhousie ‘staches.

“The Second Book of Bunc" Volume 65, Issue 12 January 25, 1933 1. And the tribe of the Employeez also doth dwell in the land of Dal and they are an industrious people. They look after the institutions of the land. 2. Who knoweth not of Lester, father of the Moustache Kloob? For is it not he who prepareth the tables in the geem on those dreaded days twice during the year and for them who participate in the Suppes?

Movember: 1924 Edition "Pine Hill Post" Volume 56, Issue 17 November 26, 1924 Yes, Ted Cumming started it. No one now denies that he left off shaving his upper lip at least one month before Edwin Johnstone decided to grow his moustache. Undoubtably, Ted would have been the instigator of the new “Moustache Club” had he not been hindered by the fact that he could never succeed in growing more than thirteen and a half hairs on the left side of his upper lip. All this of course is ancient history. Both had been experimenting for months. It was not until yesterday that Edwin finally achieved his object, when Bert Moore asked him if there were not some hairs on his lip. Just at this psychological moment, Harold Coffin, happening along, declared that only last night a girl had told him that kissing a man without a moustache is like eating an egg without salt. Thereupon, like gallant gentlemen they decided to organize a moustache club for the benefit of the fair sex. Bill Richardson welcomed it as a God-send, saying that if a moustache made such a difference, he might be able to regain some of his lost prestige. The organization already claims a membership of about twenty. Still, do not be too optimistic girls. It may be several months before any result is apparent.

"Pine Hill Post" Volume 56, Issue18 December 3, 1924 Dumphy is leading the Moustache Growing Competition by at least half an inch. Gerry Olmstead has dropped out of the race. “Some ‘men’”, says Gerry, “are afflicted with a bald head: I am afflicted with a bald face.”

“The Observer” Volume 67, Issue 1 October 4, 1934 But who should be the center of the crowd’s attention? The Observer moved closer. It was none other than Lester, the Arts Building brain-trust, elucidating on the merits of our new common room. Observer had just arrived in time, for with a flick of the well-groomed moustache and a paternal twinkle in the eye, Lester concluded: “and if you must play cards, don’t let it be anything stronger than Old Maids.” “Pine Hill on Parade” Volume 67, Issue12 January 17, 1935 All of the Theologs attending a 2:30 class on Tuesday afternoon were shocked to see the sight of two beds, complete with pillows and mattresses, two easy chairs and a floor-lamp, placed conspicuously near the door of the hallowed Arts Building. Lester was surrounded by excited, gesticulating persons, who demanded an explanation. The noble gentleman’s moustache bristled at the thought of potential immorality going on under his roof. A long conference with Prof. Theakston followed, and Lester won his point. The articles were removed to the Forrest Building, where they belonged, and the reputation of Studley was saved. "Facts, Fables, Foibles" Volume 68, Issue 2 October 4, 1935

The papers tell us that crops in Florida and the West Indies have been damaged by hurricanes but there seems to have been no damage to the upper lip foliage-for, as far as we know, no razors have been applied and despit comment all involved seem to be bearing up well. The past season must have been a good one but much daily care must be taken before any new members can be admitted to the LESTER MOUSTACHE CLUB.


opinions 11

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

A CENTURY OF 'STACHES

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12 opinions

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

All you can eat Halifax's unflattering food addiction. Sarah Estrin Staff Contributor

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hen I first started the process of moving to Halifax, the joke was always “oh you’ll do well there; did you know they have more bars than people?” Now, a few years later, I can’t help but wonder if we have more restaurants than people AND bars. I would delve into a whole depressing conversation about how Barrington is changing, but I think the Halloween Edition of The Coast covered that one pretty well. So I’ll save you from my thoughts on that particular topic, but I’ve had other thoughts float into my head as I ponder the state of our downtown core. One particular question is whether the recent explosion of restaurants in the city is threatening to transform our urban population from jolly alcoholics into a bunch of burger munching, roly-poly Northern-Americans. Okay this is a bit extreme, maybe, so let’s scale it back. Let me tell you a story. I like to think of myself as a well-travelled individual. I’ve lived in places like Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. I’ve travelled to Thailand, London, Paris, and I’ve been across Canada and into the states, including Seattle, New York City and San Francisco. My favourite place, by far, was Melbourne. For a while I lived in the centre of town. It was nothing short of amazing. I stepped out my door and

walked down to a street called Brunswick, in the Fitzroy district. There I could find anything to suit my fancy, from late night coffee shops and bars, to music venues, clubs, boutiques, mediation centres and more. All within a six-block radius, and that was only one area of the city. If I went downtown, I would weave my way through the city streets, moving between the main streets and the little alley ways covered with beautiful scenery to find my way through to a café, restaurant, clothing store or library. There was a beautiful, diverse vibrancy to the city. I loved it. So, as you can imagine, coming back to Halifax was a bit….shocking. When I left, the city was at a standstill with development. The convention centre was still a hole in the ground, Barrington still had shops on the street, and Spring Garden wasn’t the weird looking mash up it is now between being new buildings, really expensive boutique shops, and the occasional bar/restaurant. I’m not entirely sure why, but Halifax seems to have become a foodie’s dream town. For visitors, that’s great. There are still plenty of touristy things to do in the area, like the art galleries, the citadel, the maritime museum, and then a large choice of restaurants and bars to choose from when going to out for dinner. But when you live here and you’re a student, well then, there isn’t much to do but eat and drink. This isn’t exactly that much differ-

ent than before, only now we’ve traded away a few of our small collection of shops in exchange for a bigger selection of places to stuff our faces. The actual problem lies in the fact that most of peninsular Halifax outside of the North End has no character or personality. It’s simply a bunch of cute, boutique style restaurants where the young yuppies who haven’t been forced out of Nova Scotia due to unemployment choose to spend their time. They are joined by the DINKS (Double Income, No Kids), that grouping of thirtysomethings who are making a decent wage here and choose to spend it in the wealth of restaurants. You would think that with the glut of restaurants and the relative lack of niche shops that don’t cost an arm and a leg, the market would eventually sort itself out. For some reason though, we seem doomed to witness the endless locust-like life cycles of gourmetburger joints, or frozen yogurt shops, or whatever other trend of the moment food has seized the town by storm. So while we wait breathlessly for the next restaurant to pop up— will it be Elle’s Breakfast Diner on Barrington, or the Pavia Café in the new downtown library? — let us raise a pint, or a penne pasta, or a portobello burger in salute to the commercial diversity that we’re probably never going to get around to properly fostering in the downtown core!

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business.humber.ca/postgrad


arts&culture

arts&culture

arts covers cultural happenings in Halifax. Email Mat at arts@dalgazette.com

The dream of the '90s is alive in Halifax Moist, live in concert, in 2014

Sarah Estrin Staff Contributor

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hen I told my brother that I was going to see Moist live in concert, his response was “heh.” Without saying anything I knew what he was thinking: it was funny that his sister, who is seven years younger than him, was going to see a band he listened to when he was in his teens. For the uninitiated, Moist is a Canadian band originally formed back in 1992 in Vancouver. Their first full length album, titled Sliver, was released by an independent label in 1994. The album

included songs like “Push,” which sent them to the big times after selling 400,000 copies. In 1996 they would release their second album, Creature. Songs such as “Resurrection,” “Tangerine” and “Gasoline” would be played on frequent rotation on Much Music. These songs that my brother grew up with in his teens would

be the songs I heard in the background when I was seven years old. Moist would go on to a hiatus in 2000 and it would be the solo career that David Usher would go on to that would shape my teen years, but I always held on to “Resurrection” and it managed to slip into my repertoire of favorite 90s songs alongside “Superman” by Our Lady Peace and “Alive” by Edwin. It truly was my brother`s generation that grew up in the 90s,

whereas for my generation (those of us born between 1985 and 1989), we simply rode the coattails of the music and generational norms of that older generation. This isn`t a bad thing though. We got to enjoy music like Our Lady Peace and the Cranberries while still getting the boy band crazy of the Backstreet Boys and girl band Spice Girls. Oh, and we can`t forget about Aqua. When talks began of Moist

reforming, you can imagine my trepidation. Sometimes bands come back with new sounds after a long hiatus, and so I was afraid that the band I known when I was seven would have changed their style. I didn`t need to have worried. Seeing them in concert at

Casino Halifax (bearing in mind that I have seen David Usher during his solo career years) was beyond satisfying and helped to solidify my realization that this band has not changed a single bit in the twelve years they`ve been on hiatus. The band came on stage shortly after 8 p.m. With no opening band, they launched right into “Mechanical,” the new single from their new album, Glory Under Dangerous Skies. Even though we were seated to begin with, that would change just a few seconds after they started to sing. A

young woman from the audience rocked it up to the front of the stage and simply let loose, putting her weight into her head bang-

ing and body jumping. After that the chairs were forgotten and everyone was either moving up to the front of standing. I think if the crowd had been ten years younger a true mosh pit would have formed, complete with some body surfing. But, being a child of the 90s today means that you’re a bit too old to try and crowd surf and not always willing to throw your body into a pit of elbows and knees. Moist provided us with a high energy and purely amazing concert. Their set trudged on for 90 minutes straight and finished with two encores. The crowd was awesome. No one got out of hand or rowdy. Everyone was simply enjoying the beauty that was Moist.

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Instead of playing a string of new songs they played one old one with one new one, and when I heard them sing “Resurrection” followed by “Black Roses,” I knew they hadn`t changed a bit. Still boasting their true metal style and strange lyrics that the band was known for before their hiatus, they were able to create an album that sounded like they had never left. As a bonus treat, half way through the set they played David`s hit “Black Black Heart.” They also took a point mid set to sit on stage and play two acoustic songs. Halifax was the first stop on their cross-Canada tour and if you didn`t grow up in the ’90’s, that’s okay because Moist is on their way to resurrecting the ‘90’s spirit in the best Canadian way possible.


14 arts&culture

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

Hal-Con Logs

A look into the weekend of cosplay, comics and tea William Coney Staff Contributor

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or those of you unaware, this past weekend was Hal-Con, the Maritime’s yearly celebration of geek culture. I took it upon myself to keep an event log as the convention went on. Saturday, November 8th 1130 – Having showed up to the convention in my 1st/2nd Century CE Roman Gallic peasant outfit, I get some “My Little Peony” tea from the World Tea House booth. Phil, the owner of the World Tea House, is a pretty cool guy. 1200 – Diversity in Comics Panel: Panelists from various different parts of the comics industry, are present. The conversation went into some very thought-provoking areas. It ended with the unanimous recommendation to follow the newest Ms. Marvel series, which stars the Muslim teenager Kamala Khan, subject of much critical and popular acclaim.

1255 – Made friends in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) booth – they’re pretty cool. I was primarily interested in the 3rd/4th century CE legionary, but also met a 15th century French noble lady and a crusader knight of the 12th century. 1305 – Got “Swamp Thing Tea” from the World Tea House Booth. Phil tells me it’s a mixture of sencha and mint. 1337 – I’m annoyed people keep saying “Nice toga.” It’s a tunic! 1650 – World Tea House again: Inara’s Oolong (Wuyi Oolong). It’s delicious. Maybe I drink too much tea? 1700 – Steampunk 201: Journey to the Center of it all. Hosted by the Jules Vernes Phantastical Society, the panel sought to explain some of the history and nature of the steampunk and what the society views as inherent to the genre.

1714 – “What’s the difference between a Sonic Screwdriver and a magic wand? The colour of your scarf.” 2000 – The last event I attend of the day is the “George Melies, the father of Science Fiction Cinema” panel. It’s hosted by the Jules Verne Phantastical Society again. Melies is best known for his Le Voyage Dans la Lune (A Trip to the moon), but he was basically a tour de force for early film from 1896-1910, making 531 films in that span of time. 2016 – Melies would transfer from stage magic over to the screen learning how to make a film camera by taking apart a projector. He’d be one of many to invent the film camera in or around 1896. 2024 – We’re shown a rare, restored colour version of La Voyage Dans la Lune. Cannes has been insanely compiling all the records, and have managed to restore the coloured completed version (which was coloured by hand) 109 years after the fact. I’ve never seen it in colour before. 2031 – It’s beautiful. I want to become a film historian. 2038 – There are quite a lot of scantily clad assistants for a 1902 production. Sunday, November 9th 1000 – After waiting in line for an hour, it moves, and it does so swiftly. My first stop is by the World Tea House booth, where I pick up some Second Breakfast tea. 1005 – Show up a bit late to the Genderbending, Crossplay and Cosplay Panel. Panelist is primarily focused on the character, as with any other form of Cosplay. Genderbending and Crossplay isn’t substantively different from any other form of artistic decision.

At Hal-Con you can find old favourites like Hans, Leia and ... the cookie wookie. • • • Photos by William Coney

1234 – “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot,” as I pay homage to the best Star Trek captain. 1252 – Sitting in wait for the Webcomics Panel, a member of the convention staff walks in asking if anyone has lost their scythe. No

one had. 1309 – Peter Chiykowski (of Rock, Paper, Cynic acclaim): “Create comics you like, not because it’ll sell.” The consensus of the panel as a whole is on this. If you produce from the heart and with consistency, you’ll create understanding and expectation for your audience. 1429 – At the Introduction to Lolita Fashion panel I’m one of the three males in the room. I feel kinda awkward in my Roman dress, whose simplicity and utility is the opposite of Lolita fashion. 1433 – My bad, four males. One of them was dressed in Lolita fashion, so I didn’t notice initially, despite the well-groomed goatee. 1633 – On the bus back home from the convention. It was a lot of fun, but right now I’m just super tired. I’ve a big stack of Latin and Greek homework for me, and I’m not looking forward to what these next two days will be like. Crunch time for me.

That's Why You Go to College by Nathan Coney The two-hander, a chunk of granite (approx. a foot), scraps my arms as I try to set it in the wall for the Nth time From behind, amongst juvenile guffaws and the grunts of parenting, come father and son - matching hats. They stop, admiring my handiwork, and leave, with the father stating, "Son, that's why you go to College". The rock slides in perfectly frustration as some sort of emotional lubricant. Dirtwork, soil neath the fingertips, an unforgiving farmers tan, has produced trustworthy souls ones with more respect to man the land, and themselves, than many of those to turn themselves to an immediate degree. I restrain myself from cussing aloud, and give into my own labor. My hands reach down for another stone, spreading some more dirt upon my character.


arts&culture 15

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

Green space blues

Robert Garcia touches on issues of equal access for all Elyse Creamer Arts Contributor

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rban advocate Robert Garcia spoke at the McLean building for the sustainability lectures that are held every Thursday evening. Garcia opened the lecture by commending Dalhousie University for the College of Sustainability saying, “If you are lawyer or shop keeper you need to understand the importance of sustainability.” Garcia is a civil rights attorney who has led a longstanding career in the United States' legal system, including public pol-

icy, legal advocacy and litigation. Complex issues such as social justice, civil rights, human health, environmental, education and criminal justice matters have all been a part of Garcia’s impressive career thus far. Currently, his main focus is on equal access to public resources for all. As the Founding Director and Counsel of The City Project, his goals are to empower and educate the communities within LA that have been discriminated against due to ethnicity and now have less access to public parks. This nonprofit organization is based in Los Angeles, California.

Garcia continued to comment on his most recent project, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The Gabriel area is largely populated by variety of ethnicities such as African American, Asian and Hispanic. Through polls and statistic reports, the LA project found that this group of people have less access to green space and the children of these communities have a higher chance of gang violence or involvement and obesity. As Garcia put it, “what the project does is allow people who would not be able to access the green spaces and parks to enjoy

the positive outcome of the environment.” On Oct. 10, 2014, US President Barack Obama visited the Monument and made a speech on the power equal access to parks explaining that too many children of LA don’t have access to parks where they can enjoy the environment in which they live in. The President also spoke about the issue as a social justice issue rather than just an environmental issue. The history of LA and the USA is largely at fault for unequal access to parks. The pattern of historical housing issues for people of colour and the separation of

ethnicities around the LA area is a main cause of the issues seen today. As well, the issue of Health Disparities such as Racial and Ethnic Disparities is prevalent in the areas without equal access. The rate of diseases such as diabetes is significantly higher here than the other parts of the LA area. To combat these issues, as well as other social justice issues, Garcia’s project created the Civil Right compliance and Equity Plan. This plan insures that the overall well being of the community is always the most important aspect of recipients of federal funding. The plan outlines the fol-

lowing: what do you plan to do, analyze burdens and benefits and alternatives, include people of color and low-income and implement a plan to distribute benefits and burdens fairly to avoid discrimination. Garcia ended his speech saying, “ultimately we can appeal to the values that we strive to achieve as a community and democracy and emphasize the inherent democratic nature of public spaces.”

Getting out there

Lessons from a Dalhousie theatre alumni Robyn Moore Arts Contributor

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itting through hours of lecture each week, it can feel like graduation is a lifetime away. But what do you do when it finally arrives? The dreaded question that all university graduates face is “where do I go from here?” The pressure can feel worse if you graduate with a degree that isn’t known for making money. Ben Chaisson, Dal theatre alumni, ignored all the misconceptions about fine arts grads and jumped right into the workforce. He spent some of his undergrad working in the industry, collecting connections and gaining experience so when graduation day came, he was prepared to face the professional world. Chaisson graduated from Dalhousie with a BA in theatre technical scenography and went on to work in Halifax, Banff, Montreal and now works in Toronto. For the past four years, he has been working at the Ross Petty Pantomime, a holiday tradition in Toronto that has been running for twenty years. Chaisson is currently working as a designer of the video and projection systems for the pantomime. Having graduated in 1996, Chaisson

adapted to the technological advances of the theatre world. Thinking back on his time at Dalhousie, Chaisson credited the technical staff of the theatre department for having a big influence on him and helped him to get work. He took what he had learned at Dalhousie and applied it to the changing industry. While at school, he focused on his future career by making connections with people in his industry, and working while studying for his degree. While all of this planning for the future has paid off, Chaisson says “My regret is that I was a little too focused on graduating. I didn’t take as much advantage of the academic opportunity. I ran through my degree. I missed the opportunity to study more.” The transition from university to the “real world” can be jarring. When asked what the biggest difference between the academic setting and the professional world, Chaisson notes “time ... In the academic setting you have more time. In the real world, you don’t. You have 3 weeks of rehearsal to get the show up and the stakes are pretty high. Opening night is happening whether you’re ready or not.” Chaisson’s advice to current theatre students: “Go see as much theatre as possible, you’re so limited in different aspects in a school you don’t really see what the

real world is doing... Seeing more theatre just builds your repertoire better...I advise anybody in the theatre department to make your own work as

much as you can.”

Old Heart by Amber Solberg


Fun fact: not a single member of The Constantines is named Constantine. • • • Photo supplied

Steve Lambke of The Constantines talks to the Gazette The newly reunited band’s Atlantic finale

Anfernee Duncombe Staff Contributor

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s The Constantines gear up to play their Nov. 14 reunion show at The Marquee, the Gazette had a chat with guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist Steve Lambke about the band. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the early 2000’s indie rock band, in Lambke’s words, “We formed the band in 1999 or so; Doug and Bry had grown up playing music together, and Dallas and I had played together in a number of bands. We all got to know each other a bit playing all-ages punk shows around southern Ontario. When we started jamming and writing songs together it just sort of clicked. Will joined after a couple of years and thing kind of took another leap with his input”. He goes on to describe the band’s sound as “drawing on a bunch of punk and post-hardcore music” but later “combined that experience with some rock and

roll and classic soul influences”. When asked about the band’s success, Lambke remains modest as he says that “Any thoughts of ‘making it’ were pretty far from our minds at the time we started and I'd say we're still pretty uncomfortable with such discussions. We just wanted to be a kick ass band and play some shows and make some records, and I think that's still the healthiest way to think about it”. Despite being uncomfortable with measuring their success by lists – the band’s sophomore release, Shine a Light, was mentioned as one of the 100 greatest Canadian albums of all time in the book, The Top 100 Canadian Albums - he still thinks that it’s “super nice to be mentioned in such company and to be thought of as good and worthy in your field”. When asked about the upcoming tour and the band’s plans for the future, Lambke says that “we definitely missed playing

together! Something very unique and special happens between the five members of this band that doesn't happen in any of the other music any of us play. It's a certain energy and attitude that is hard to describe. Rock and roll bands operate on a mysterious chemistry; it's rare and surprising and wonderful when it happens. We haven't talked about our next plans yet, so I'll have to just leave it at ‘we'll see’.” The band is excited to return back to Halifax for the concert and Lambke expressed even more excitement about their opening act: Jon Mckiel – “I hear his current band is killer, so it should be an excellent set. As for the Cons, this is the last show of our tour, so I'm pretty stoked to go out with a bang”.


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sports covers athletics events and topics relevant to Dalhousie. Email Graeme at sports@dalgazette.com

The underwater underground Dal's co-ed water polo team hopes for more recognition among student body Jake Tallon Sports Contributor

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’ve always considered myself a decent swimmer. Then I practiced with the Dalhousie water polo team. What started as an amicable discussion with the coaching staff and captain quickly digressed into a humbling exercise of attempting to keep my head above water. Dal’s water polo team caters to the community. It’s a co-ed affair that draws people from all walks of life. Head coach Alex Martineau is a business student at Saint Mary’s who’s played for 13 years. Captain Annie Chinneck balances her time in the water with completing her PhD in clinical psychology. There’s also assistant coach Michael Chudnovsky, who claims to have been playing the game for 100 years. “When you see the water, you just want to play,” said Chudnovsky. The team consists mainly of Dal students. They practice three days a week and are gearing up for their first tournament at the end of November. When practice starts; it’s business time. Martineau leads the warm up from poolside. Players swim lengths while passing balls back and fourth. This was my first indication of being in over my head. Trying to keep pace with the warm up was hard enough. Swim, catch, tread water, throw, don’t drown, repeat. Chudnovsky said there are several misconceptions on how water polo works. “A lot of people think its throwing balls at flutter boards in the shallow end,” said Chudnovsky. “Which is fun, but that’s not water polo.” Chudnovsky, along with Martineau and Chinneck debate on which sport water polo is closest to, but have difficulty coming to a

Dal's water polo team practice before their first tournament at the end of the month. • • • Photos by Jennifer Gosnell

conclusion. “It’s like a bastard child of all sports,” Chinneck said. It’s got a little bit of everything, but boils down to teamwork. It’s six-on-six including a goalie, played in a deep 30 by 35-foot pool. There are plenty of rules to keep in mind – only one hand on the ball at a time, don’t submerge the ball, don’t drown your opponent. There’s plenty of physicality, too, as players constantly muscle for optimal position, whether on offense or defense. The game operates at a fast clip, rewarding strength, stamina and situational awareness. It’s difficult to nail down the optimal build for the game, as it becomes more about the cohesion of the unit rather than the individual. After the warm up, Martineau subjects the entire team to a wind-sprint style exercise to reinforce the importance of arriving

to practice on time. Five minutes of full-speed swimming with minimal rest left me sucking for air while clinging to the side of the pool deck. It also left me with a nagging feeling of having made a terrible mistake. Martineau runs the practice with a firm grip. It keeps the team moving and motivated. Their first tournament starts Nov. 22 and Martineau wants everyone to be in game shape when the time comes. Martineau’s wealth of experience comes from his time as a player and referee at the provincial level. Humbly, Matineau says he’s taken all he can from the game and is now looking to give back. He’s aware of his inability to make the national team, so instead he focuses his efforts on the game’s future. Students may be apprehensive to get involved in water polo, as it is not a mainstream sport.

Dal’s team works with Water Polo Nova Scotia and Sport Nova Scotia to promote the sport by insuring younger players have access to water polo leagues to allow it to grow. Water polo generally is not a co-ed sport, but in order to maintain a team, they allow players of both genders. Chinneck said this was the hardest adjustment in playing for Dal. She also references this as having the potential to be intimidating among women interested the sport. Despite the grueling amount of swimming, the practice is filled with smiles and good-natured people – many of whom helped me along as I fumbled balls, missed passes and generally struggled to stay afloat. The first drill of the night revolves around playing with a man advantage. Martineau drills the players about working on communication, forcing them

to always talk to one another as they adjust to the changing game. There’s a lot going on and a lot to keep in mind. Everyone is having fun, but no one is taking it lightly. The practice goes on for nearly two hours. To me, it’s a crushing workout. To them, it’s just another day. Everyone brings something different to the table. They all have different skill sets and reasons for playing. Some have done it all their lives. Others are trying it for the first time. As I stumbled home after practice with ears full of water and a fear of my legs not working in the morning, I think about the team and the amount of effort they put into doing what they love to do. It’s tough, it’s physical, it’s wet, and it’s fun. It’s Dalhousie water polo.


sports 19

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

Four-straight titles for Dalhousie lacrosse Graeme Benjamin Sports Editor

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he result was the same, but the winning feeling never gets old for Dalhousie lacrosse. Coming off an undefeated regular season, the Tigers once again entered the Maritime University Field Lacrosse League (MUFLL) championships as the clear-cut favourite to win it all again. It didn’t help the other team’s causes that the games were held at Wickwire Field, either. And the Tigers, once again, didn’t skip a beat. They defeated the St. FX X-Men in the finals for the second-straight year Nov. 9 by a score of 15-9 to give them their fourth consecutive title and sixth in the last seven years. The Tigers played the X-Men on two different occasions this year, beating them by scores of 15-11 and 14-5, respectively. The X-Men are the only team that posed somewhat of a challenge for the Tigers this year. Their game on Oct. 18 was a great indication. St. FX kept pace with Dal through the first half of play and was up 11-7 late into the third quarter. But the Tigers rallied and scored eight unanswered to walk away the victory. Nonetheless, the Tigers were

able to handily defeat the X-Men the next time they faced them and again in the finals. The Tigers advanced to the finals by dominating their cross-town rival Saint Mary’s Huskies 19-5 the day before. The last loss the Tigers have suffered was two years ago on Sept. 12 against the Huskies when they lost by a point. Dal’s Brett McNeil and Louis Martin were handed MUFLL awards following the game. McNeil was named the defender of the year and Martin was named midfielder of the year. St. FX’s Ian McShane was named the league top scorer and MVP.


20 sports

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

Men's basketball split weekend contests to UPEI

Jared Reid scores 31 points to give Tigers their first win of the season Graeme Benjamin Sports Editor

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fter a disappointing overtime loss to the UPEI Panthers in their home opener, the Tigers redeemed themselves the next day with a convincing 93-84 victory to start the season 1-1. The Tigers, who finished their season out of the playoff picture last year with a 6-14 record, entered their home opener with high spirits and intensity. Kashrell Lawrence and Sven Stammberger led the way for Dalhousie early on, scoring 14 of the team’s 16 first quarter points. At the half, the Tigers were up 35-31. It was very much back and forth over the next two quarters with UPEI’s Ellis Ffrench sinking timely baskets and Lawrence carrying much of the load for the

Tigers. The Panthers were outdueling the Tigers in the final minutes of the game until first-year. Sean Dodds came up big with a three-pointer with only 11 seconds remaining to tie the game at 82 and send it to overtime. The Tigers’ inability to keep out of foul trouble resulted in the Panthers converting on eight of nine attempts from the free throw line to push UPEI to a 95-88 victory. The next game, the Tigers once again came out with guns blazing. This time, however, Dal’s Jared Reid took over. Reid exploded in the first quarter, surpassing his point total from the night before by scoring 14 and making four shots from beyond the arc. Reid,

UPEI's Brad States blocks Dal's Cedric Sanogo in front of a packed Tigers home crowd. • • • Photo by Jennifer Gosnell

who had a game and career-high 31 points, was named the player of the game. Though the second contest was once again evenly matched, the Tigers were able to hold onto the slight lead for the majority of the game. Things started to come

Dal's Kevin Duong attempts a jump shot against the Panthers. • • • Photo by Jennifer Gosnell

together in the fourth, as they extended their lead to nine points with just over three minutes to play. And there was no turning back from there. Dal played sound defense over the final minutes of the game to notch their first win of the season. Dal enters the regular season as an inexperienced unit, with only John Traboulsi in his fourth year of eligibility. Traboulsi, who started in 14 games last season and registered an average of nine points per game, will not be back in the lineup until after the holiday break as he is recovering from knee surgery. There are seven Tigers who enter the season without any Atlantic University Sport (AUS) experience. Head coach Rick Plato hopes the new-look Tigers will establish an early connection on the floor so they will have the opportunity to compete for the AUS crown this time around. Dal is looking to earn four big points during their first road trip of the season, as they take on

Memorial Nov. 15 and 16. The Seahawks started their season 0-2 after back-to-back loses to the CIS sixth-ranked Cape Breton. Capers.


sports 21

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

Women's basketball with flawless start Tigers top Panthers twice to start season undefeated Graeme Benjamin Sports Editor

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ourtney Thompson had a combined 43 points over two games to lead the Tigers to two straight victories over the UPEI Panthers during their opening weekend of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) regular season schedule. Following their 54-47 win over the Panthers on Nov. 7, the Tigers worked much better as a unit to convert on their offensive chances, resulting in them putting 19 more points on the board than the night before. They final score of the second game was 73-63. Head coach Anna Stammberger complimented her team’s ability to overcome last year’s obstacle of winning consecutive games. “All the games are tough in this league and UPEI’s a very good team,” she said. “They returned everybody and they’re a very good

scoring team, so we were very happy to keep their score down last night and tonight. Third-year Ainsley MacIntyre and fourth-year Tessa Stammberger, along with Thompson also reached point totals in the double digits. Danielle MacDonald had a team-high 14 points for UPEI. Thompson, who averaged a team-high 17 points per game last year, will be largely relied upon to provide a significant offensive and leadership presence for the Tigers this season. “She’s certainly a player and a half,” said Stammberger about Thompson. “She’s a real competitor and is mentally and physically tough. She’s a big part of this team.” Dal is coming off an average season that saw them finish middle of the pack. They lost in the semifinals of the AUS playoffs to the Saint Mary’s Huskies who

ended up winning the title and advanced to place second at the CIS championships. The Tigers had a near-perfect preseason, winning three of four games and only narrowly losing to CIS ninth-ranked Laval 56-54

at the Subway Centennial Tournament at Dalplex on Oct. 18. Dal looks to continue their winning ways Nov. 15 and 16 during their first road trip of the season against Cape Breton. The Capers currently sit at .500 after winning

• • • Photo by Alexander Maxwell

their first game to the Memorial Seahawks 54-50, but narrowly losing the next 47-46.



sports 23

Nov. 14 - Nov. 20, 2014 •

November 14, 2014

Redefining success Sharique Khan Contributor BComm '13

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ast week I met a student at a networking session and he asked me something I hadn't really thought about in a while: "What do you think success is?" I paused and looked carefully in his eyes, trying to understand what he wanted to hear. I cleared my throat and responded, “Ask a thousand people the same question and you’ll find just as many different answers. The meaning of success is different for everyone, based on their experiences and goals in life. To me, being

happy and content with myself, and being able to understand myself and the people around me, is success.” The same night before going to bed, the question hovered over my head and, unwillingly, I had to think about it and reflect on my answer. I had a hard time recalling the last person I had met who wasn't a part of the race to be better than someone else, and was instead content with what they had. Schooling and education are supposed to broaden our thinking and teach us to look at the bigger picture but, unfortunately, in the last few decades, the desire to be “successful” has made us amend the definition of success. As a matter of fact, most people

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say they want success but, in reality, they have no idea what they really want. Being content with what you have does mean that you do not desiring more or are not aiming high. Everyone is unique and blessed with special talents or qualities that they is better at than many others. What distinguishes people from one another is their ability to find that special quality in themselves and to build upon it. To be irreplaceable you have to be different. To be different you have to discover that special quality in yourself. The only competition you have is the competition with yourself. You should be analyzing yourself on a regular basis, trying to be a better

person than you were yesterday. It is impossible to be happy with ourselves if we keep worrying about others; there will always be someone smarter than you, someone stronger than you, someone prettier than you. But remember, no one can ever be you. No one can ever truly be better than any other human being; you can only be better than who you were yesterday. I hope someday each one of us will stop competing with one another and start complimenting each other. As Gandhi said: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Upcoming Dal events November 18, 2014, 1:00-2:30 PM: "Rubrics and Feedback: Communicating with Students About Assessment" with speakers Dr. Suzanne Le-May Sheffield and Dr. Deborah Kiceniuk, directors at the Centre for Learning and Teaching. Room B400, Killam Memorial Library - free to attend - register at dal.ca/ dept/clt/about/ContactUsform/RegistrationForm.html. November 18, 2014, 4:00-6:00 PM: ESL Workshop: "The Mechanics of Writing." Room 2107, Mona Campbell Building - free to attend - register at dal.ca/ faculty/cce/programs/english-as-a-second-language/programs-and-courses/ workshops-for-international-students/workshop-descriptions.html. November 20, 2014, 7:15-8:15 PM: Halifax Planetarium Show: "Andromeda and the Autumn Sky" by Pat Kelly. Room 120, Dunn Building - $5 at the door - reservations required at astronomynovascotia.ca.

Submitted by Spencer Evans

November 26, 2014, 1:00-3:00 PM: "Thinking Beyond the Ivory Tower" by Jill McSweeney, IDPhD student & graduate teaching associate. Room B400, Killam Library - free to attend - register at dal.ca/dept/clt/ about/ContactUsform/RegistrationForm.html.

Questions, Comments, Contribute Sextant@dal.ca

Write. Get Paid. 100-200 words = $15 200-400 words = $25 400-600 words = $30 600+ words = $35 Picture with article = +$5 Picture of the Week, Comic, Abstract = $20

SUBMit: Sextant@dal.ca

Sexton eventS enGiBeerinG in the deSiGn coMMonS every friday, 1:30-5:30 t-rooM trivia W/ Stan and Ben every friday @ 9:30 ($2, 19+) Share your Sexton event by sending details to sextant@dal.ca Deadline to apply for the January weekend event "Graduate Opportunities @ Dal" is Nov. 17! Visit go.engineering.dal.ca. The Sextant aims to represent all students studying and living on Sexton Campus. If you have any concerns about the paper, please email sextant@dal.ca Editor-in-Chief: Molly Elliott Assistant Editor: Andres Collart Treasurer: Wheejae Kim

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